With the Palm Pre set to launch on Saturday, an updated iPhone 3.0 with support for Bluetooth-enabled medical peripheral devices close on its heels, and forthcoming launches of the Blackberry Storm 2 and Nokia N97, there should be plenty of smartphone stats kicking around online, and a whole new wave of arguments in the works concerning which device is really best for healthcare. The pre-launch buzz surrounding the Palm Pre suggests it may very well give Apple’s iPhone a run for its money. But it’s still very early to say. Too early.
As an early adopter of Palm technology, I'd love to see the company come rallying back with a knockout device. But I'm inclined to agree with David Coursey at PC World, who reminds us that the Pre's major selling point—the ability to run multiple apps simultaneously—will, over time, become important. The problem is most smartphones, with the exception of Apple's iPhone, already offer this feature, and by the time the mainstream demands it, Apple will offer it, too.
And it could be that Apple has more in mind for healthcare than just the ubiquitous smartphone—like a touch screen tablet. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster thinks Apple is working on a device with a 7- to 10-inch touch screen that will sell between $500 and $700. The gadget would fill the gap between Apple's $400 iPod Touch and the $1,000 MacBook, according to an Apple Insider report.
As a recent article in InformationWeek points out: “If Apple is working on such a device, then it could find a solid market. Despite their cramped keyboards and frustratingly tiny touch pads, netbooks have become the hottest-selling segment of the computer market, accounting for nearly a fifth of all laptops shipped in the first quarter of this year, according to DisplaySearch.”
Ezra Gottheil, an analyst for Technology Business Research who also believes Apple is working on a touch-screen tablet, told InformationWeek the one item Apple would need is support for a full-size keyboard. The keyboard would not have to be attached to the device, but could be used through a Bluetooth wireless connection—say, the kind of connection the updated iPhone 3.0 will sport, offering support for Bluetooth-enabled medical peripheral devices, like Johnson & Johnson’s LifeScan glucometer.
As we await the Palm Pre's launch on June 6, all speculation surrounding Apple’s launch of a tablet points, once again, to the consumer market. But, given the iPhone’s popularity among physicians—and the enormous potential of the health IT market as health reform gets underway—I have to wonder if Apple has bigger plans for healthcare, and whether the company can effectively compete against those who already dominate the field.
John Farrell participates in HealthcareGoesMobile.com as a community correspondent through Intel’s paid sponsorship with MedTech Publishing Company.
